Tip of the Week: How to Access Multiple Gmail Accounts On Your Android Device

If you have an Android smartphone, you know that the device is closely tied to your own personal Google account. As such, in order to get the most out of your Android device, you should take advantage of its seamless functionality with Google applications. This includes making sure that your Gmail account is properly set up on your device. We’ll walk you through how to add additional Gmail accounts to Android’s Gmail app.

First off, why would you want to add a new Gmail account to your Android device in the first place? This could be helpful for a couple of reasons. For one, there are some folks out there who do, in fact, have multiple Gmail accounts. While it’s frowned upon by Google, they might make a free “burner” account in an attempt to limit the amount of junk mail they receive. Another reason could be to add a work account, if your business uses Gmail as its preferred email client. Doing so gives you anywhere access to your email, calendar, and Google Docs, especially while you’re on the road or traveling for business purposes.

Either way, it’s a good idea to know how to add a new account to your device. Here’s how it’s done.

Adding a New or Existing Gmail AccountFirst thing’s first; open the Gmail app. You’ll see your inbox, but what you really want to see is the side menu. Tap the hamburger menu (the three-line menu in the top-left corner), and scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page. Select Settings, and you’ll see a list of all your current accounts.

Next, tap on Add account. Select Google, and tap Next. Afterwards, it’s simply a matter of following the instructions on the screen.

Switching Between AccountsOnce you’ve finished adding your new account to the Gmail app, you can switch between your account inboxes easily enough. Simply open up the hamburger menu again, and you should see your accounts in the form of icons at the top of the menu. You can tap the icon, or you can select the down arrow next to your currently open account to select the one you want to use.

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About the author

John Reilly is Managing Partner at Infradapt, LLC. Prior to joining Infradapt, he was the President of Vital IT Solutions, Inc., where among other roles, he developed a methodology and approach for performing risk and compliance assessments.

Prior to Infradapt, Mr. Reilly founded Vital IT Solutions, Inc., Mr. Reilly worked with Expanets, Inc., as a Senior Converged Account Executive, specializing in VoIP and Security, and a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on HIPAA. His Expanets’ achievements included national Sales awards including Millionaire’s Club and pioneering VoIP deployments for regional clients.

Mr. Reilly also has direct work experience in the banking industry, where he worked in Sales and Management, and in manufacturing, where he worked as an Accountant. John earned his BS in Accounting at Gwynedd-Mercy College, while also studying Negotiation, Decision Making, and Creative Problem Solving. He holds a SANS GIAC security certification and is a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of InfraGard.